The Caelish Princepality of Caelion
The Caelish Princepality of Caelion is a human nation state located in the north of the continent of Teriam. The Princepality is ruled by a leader called the Princeps and a Secundus, alongside a council of the people's nobles and commoners. Currently the Princeps is Korvus Castus I, with his mother, Lariel Castus, acting as Secundus. History Arrival and Founding (Circa 1 AFT of the Third Age) Hundreds of years ago, a group landed on the shores of a continent. They numbered around 2000 people. They were survivors from an ancient imperium that collapsed under the strain of millions of people that made it and the overall corruption of the government and the authority in general. Escaping bandits, brigands and the Empire’s enemies, the handful of the survivors escaped on ships. The people of the empire were seafarers and so it seemed fitting that the sea would provide salvation in the wake of calamity. They sailed for what seemed like weeks before finally making landfall on the main continent called Etiam. They explored inland and settled a town on the base of a mountain christened by the settlers as Tantam. The surrounding environment was lush with vast green plains and beautiful landscapes of oak trees. There were vast herds of animals (deers, elephants, lions, rhinos, zebra, wolves and many more). It was paradise. One person remarked it was Heaven on earth. The leader of the survivors was known as Arctorius Castus. He was a captain in the army but deserted when the republic collapsed. Leading his family along with other citizens they met along the way to the harbour, Castus led the way to the founding of Caelum. The group, seeing Castus’s strength, elected Arctorius as the leader. He proved his valour during the exodus by rescuing as many citizens as he could, remaining steadfast, and for proving his strength in battle. They named him Princeps or leader. From there, House Castus has watched over Caelum and its citizens, the people’s eternal guardians. House Castus’s sigil is a White Griffin. This stems from a story during the first arrival on the new continent. When Arctorius first arrived on the new continent, he went out to scout the surrounding landscape but found himself being hunted. He was ambushed by a particularly angry looking Tyrannosaurus. Death was certain, until suddenly the T.Rex found itself assailed by a pure white Griffin, a beautiful and mesmerising beast. In the ensuing fight, the T.Rex died but left the Griffin mortally wounded. In honor of the beast, Arctorius put his remaining strength into healing the Griffin and fell unconscious upon completion. He woke up in the Griffin’s talons. At first he thought he was being carried for later consumption but soon he saw in the distance, the shores and with it the handful of ships that sheltered his people. The Caelish, upon seeing the massive form of the Griffin, quickly picked up their bows to shoot it down but relented upon seeing the body of Arctorius in its grasp. Arctorius was gently let down on the ground. The Griffin hovered a few feet away from Arctorius, who glanced warily in caution and awe. The last thing Arctorius saw before slipping back into unconsciousness was the Griffin roaring and flying away into legend. To this day, it is unknown why the Griffin spared Arctorius (historians reckoned it was due to Arctorius’s own mercy that spared him) but to honor the beast that saved him, he declared that forevermore, House Castus’s symbol to be that of a White Griffin on a Golden field.